Second Phase of Open Book Exams Begins Delhi University, Professors Say All Smooth

Delhi University has started the second phase of its online open-book exams (OBE) for students who were unable to appear for the first phase.

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DU OBE 2020: Delhi University has begun the second phase of the final year Online Open Book exams and authorities say that unlike the first phase the second phase is running smoothly. After conducting the first phase of online open-book exams from August 10 to August 31, 2020, Delhi University decided to conduct the second phase of exams since in the first phase many students weren’t able to appear for the exams and there were issues with the website itself. In a PTI report Professor Balaram Pani, Dean of Colleges, DU said that 10,000 students have registered for the second phase of the online open book exams and 3,000 of them have opted for writing the exams at the designated centres. He added that there are 10 centres, 250 students of the School Of Open Learning each have been allotted to each one meanwhile, college students can take the exams at their respective colleges. These students will have to bring their own answer sheets and writing materials, they will be given seats according to the plan made by the colleges. The centers will have to adhere to social distancing and sanitization practices advised. Talking about the first day of the second phase, Hem Chand Jain, principal of DDU college told PTI, "The exam went off smoothly. We are following all guidelines. We had thermal machines and were checking the status of students on the Aarogya Setu app. Students who did not have masks were provided with masks at the centre.” According to another PTI report, a visually impaired student, Alok, who appeared for the online open-book exam, said, "I had arranged for a scribe and he wrote my exam. I was not able to take the exam the first time since I was in Ghazipur, UP". He said, "this time, I traveled to Delhi to take the exam. There were technical glitches during the first phase of the exam since the students were expected to upload answer sheets on the varsity portal but this time the facility of downloading and sending the answer sheets was through email.